Shield for battleships.



J. TAGGART.

SHIELD FOR BATTLESHIPS.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 20. m5.

Pater lted May 30 1916. 2SHEETSSHEET 1.

J. TAGGART.

SHIELD FOR BATTLESHIPS.

APPLICATlON FILED OCT. 20 I915.

Patented May 30, 1916.

- 2 SHEETSSHE ET 2.

view' of JOSEPH TAGGART, OF KANSAS CITY, KANSAS.

SHIELD FOB BATTLESHIPS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 30, 1916.

i Application filed October 20, 1915. Serial No. 56,962.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH TAGGART, a citizen of the United States,residing at Kansas City in the county 0 Wyandotte, and State of Kansas,have invente certain new and use Shields for Battleships; and I doherebydeclare the following to. be a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the invention, .such as will enable others skilled in the art towhich it appertains to make and use the same.

The invention relates to improvements in shields for battle ships.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction ofshields for battleships and to provide a submerged shield adapted tointercept and explode torpedoes of submarines and other vessels beyondthe hull of the protected ship to prevent rupture of the same.

A further object of the invention is to provide a submerged shield ofthis character adapted to confine a wall of water between it and thehull of a ship so as to form a shock absorber and effectually protectships from the effect of torpedoes exploded against the same.

Another object of the invention is to provide a shield of this characteradapted to be carried by a battle ship in a folded or out of the wayposition when the ship is beyond the danger zone and capable of readyoperation for extending the shield into position in spaced relation withthe vessel.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in suchnovel features of a protecting the hull of construction, combination andarrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in theaccompanying drawing claims hereto appended, it being understood thatvarious changes in the form, proportion and minor details ofconstruction may be resorted to without and pointed out in departingfrom the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention. I

In the drawing: Figure 1 is a vertical portion of a ship provided with ashield constructed in accordance with this invention and shown in aprotecting position, Fig. 2 is a perspective a portion of the same. Fig.3 is a detail view, illustrating the arrangement of the lower staychains, Fig. 4 is a detail view of a modification of the invention,

ful Improvements in I 'responding parts in showing a "portion of ashield constructed of latt1ce-work,'Fig. 5 is a plan view show-- ingtheshields and the separate front and rear sections in their extendedposition. Fig. 6 is a similar view, the shields and the sections beingfolded.

Like numerals of reference designate corthe several figures of thedrawing.

In the accompanying drawing in which ,is' illustrated the preferredembodiment of the invention, 1 designates a shield, constructed of heavysheet steel or other suitable material and. conforming to theconfiguration of'the hull 2 of a vessel and supported in spaced relationwith the same by horizontal arms 3 designed to be arranged at intervalsand to extend through loops 4 projecting from the upper edges of theshield and either formed integral therewith or constructed separatetherefrom and suitably secured thereto. oted at their inner ends tofixed pro ecting supports 5 by pivots 6 and provided with upwardlyprojecting heels or trip projections 7 adapted to be engaged by theloops for automatically folding the arms 3 upwardly against the sides ofthe ship when the shield is drawn inwardly by thefluid pressuremechanism hereinafter described. The projecting supports 5 which may beof any desired construction are provide The arms 3 are piv-' withopenings or recesses 8 adapted to receive the trip projections or heels7 to permit the latter to lie in substantially flush relation with theupper faces or edges of by ang ularlv related stay chains 10, which arearranged in a taut condition when theshield is in its protectingposition. A'stay chain may be arranged at the lower edge and at variousother points on the shield as required. v When the shield 1 is in aprotecting posil of water around the tion it confines a wal hull of theship and in practice the space 18 feet or less, so

designed to be about three that when a torpedo is intercepted by the atits lower POI'tlOIl' shield and exploded threat the explosion.

will occur a suflicient distance from the hull Q means of the vessel toprevent it from injuring the vessel. The shield and the wall of waterform a shock absorber and the wall of water when struck with a suddenforce is practically rigid and will constitute an elii'cient bulwark forthe ship. Instead of employing a solid shell to form a shield a latticework shield 1-1 may be provided, as illustratedin Fig 4 of the drawingThe lattice-work shield may be made lighter in structure than the solidshell 1 and it may be handled more cheaply in moving it inwardly andoutwardly to its projecting position.

The fluid pressure mechanism for moving the shield inwardly andoutwardly from the side of the vessel to the projecting supportingposition and vice versa comprises in its construction pistons arrangedat suit able intervals and consisting of a piston rod 12 connected atits outer end to the shield and extending through a stalling box orboxing 13 of the hull and provided at its inner end with a piston head14; operating the speed of the same,

in a horizontal cylinder 15. The cylinder is provided at its ends withports 16 and 17 connected by pipes 18 and 19 connected with,

suitable controlling mechanism (not shown) designed to be located at thebridge or other Ipoint on a ship for enabling the shield to 'e instantlymoved inwardly or outwardly, as may be necessary. The piston pierces theshield and is provided at its outer end with a nut 20, a tapered washer21 being interposedbetween the nut and the shield, The piston rod isdesigned to be provided with a-shoulder 22 between which and the nut theshield is clamped, but anyother suitable means may, of course, beprovided for mounting the shields on the ends of the piston rods. Whenthe shield is moved inwardly the supporting arms are foldedautomatically against the hull and the hull of the vessel so as not tointerfere with The shield by being located below the surface of thewater will be'practically protected from injury by gun re. In practicethe shield will extend from the horizontal plane of the lgeel or from aexploded at a distance from the hull which may be varied as desired theshleld so as to make a continuous surface and admitting of a graduallydiminishin wall of water between the shield and the ship at the bow, andseparate sections 25 of be so placed arms the shield can be adjusted atthe stern. The stay chains are to be adjusted at the extreme lower edgeof the shield so as not to comebetween the shield and the skin of theship when the-shield is drawn against the side of the ship, and allattachments are to as to cause the minimum trio tlon when the shield isfolded,

What I claim is:

1. The combination with a hull, of relatively short fixed supportingmeans projecting from the hull spaced supports carried by the fixedsupporting means and movable to and from a projecting position, a shieldslidable inwardly and said supports to and from the said fixed supporting means, and means for moving the shield inwardly and outwardly 2.The combination with a hull, of arms projecting from the hull atintervals, said being movably mounted, means for actuating the arms forcarrying the same to and from a projecting position, a shield slidablyconnected with and supported by the said arms, and fixed supportingmeans lieve the arms of strain,

3. The combination with a hull, of supports arranged at intervals andprojecting from the hull, a shield slidable inwardly and outwardly onthe supports and adapted to be arranged close to the hull and in spacedrelation with the same, and a separate front shield section located inadvance of the said shield and hinged at their front edges to the bow ofthe boat and movable inwardly and outwardly and adapted to form agradually diminishing wall of water between it and the hulli 4. Thecombination with a hull having or heels at their inner ends, a shieldslidably connected with the said arms and hav ing means for engaging thetrip projections for folding outwardly,

5. The combination with a hull, of a shield arranged exteriorly of thehull, relatively short rigid projections fixed to and extendingoutwardly from the hull, arms pivotally connected to the projections andslidably receiving the shield and adapted to foldagainst the hull, andmeans for mov= ing the shield inwardly and outwardly, said shield beingarranged upon and sup ported by the fixed projections when it is j atthe limit of its inward movement,

6. The combination with a hull, of a shield arranged .exteriorly of thehull and provided at its upper edge with loops, fixed projecting meanscarried by the hull, pivoutwardly on the 1

